Madam Alice from House of Silverdawn Enclave, one of the four Duchies of the Empire Solarius Imperium.
She was known for her beauty, which was certainly in the finest of the Empire.
But she was not a garden flower but a flower in the mountains.
Her spirit wild and untamed.
Still, her wild personality and temper were easy to forget when you met her personally.
The reason being her strength more than her appearance.
She was a peak Rank-4 Swordswoman or a peak- Master and only 28 years old. Simply put, she was a genius.
Not everyone had talent to practice magic or swords.
On the contrary, less than ten percent of entire population of Entara barely qualified to start their journey.
Though these two were different "orthodox" paths, one involving the manipulation of laws of the world to rewrite a phenomenon, often referred to as magic and other to have divine control of your body and sword.
Mages were many times confused with elementals and spiritualist, making them laugh. If only ten percent were qualified to make them "commoners" and not just "slaves", then the chances of being a mage among these were even less than one percent.
That's why people had always a belief that mages were "superior" and "noble".
That's how the society was divided.
Ofcourse not every mage was a noble, that would be ridiculous.
Even the smallest nobility of baronet had to be an elite rank-3 mage at minimum.
While it seemed like a small thing but was a hopeless situation to "commoners" who had the talents to be a mage.
Reason? Well, simply put .. resources. Even if you're talented doesn't make you a rich person, not if you're a beginner.
Magic required huge resources in the form of special bloodlines and treasures.
History was clear, all the being in this world were descendants of Ancient creatures who had reached the peak of civilization of this world and chosen to ascend to " Celestial Realm".
_ _ _
Alice boarded her carriage stationed outside and headed towards " Nightfall " , it was a well famous bar around the capital.
Many young elites of mages and swordsmen who felt flattered being different from the rest of commoners came here to have fun.
She didn't care about being identified.
For one, she was the only daughter of one of the Dukes of the Empire and the chance anyone of them had seen a daughter of a Count let alone of a Duke were almost negligible.
Second..? Strength.
Her achievements in military were so many that despite being only a peak Rank-4 Swordswoman she held the title of Countess herself.
She had her own territory spreading hundreds of miles in southeast of map bordering The StormWeaver Kingdom having some hostile ties with The Empire.
Small border skirmishes were common but the kingdom dared not launch a full-scale war.
Everytime she settles any small disputes, she would visit the capital to report and meet her only friend Emilia who was married to a Marques, totally disdained by her.
But only Emilia and Diana knew that before returning to her fief she would visit a particular bar to release her stress from the battles.
She had always been a free bird , doing what she desired ignoring everyone around.
Since no one knew her there, she would simply have fun and ignore the party after compensating them.
Some fools who bothered her even after that were *dealt with*.
The driver was an middle-aged man with a relaxed face and lazy expression.
Even though he was a little surprised at how Alice was going to the bar again whereas she would have returned home by now, he didn't mind much.
Alice wanted just this type of person who didn't bother her unnecessarily and he knew that.
Nightfall was definitely a top bar among so-called 'elites' with its trademark drink " Nightfall Lily ".
It was something made by blending years old alcohol with a drop of juice extracted from Whispering Lily, a treasure found only in some dangerous forest.
A single drop sounded absurd but that was the truth! It's supply was very scarce and was mostly hoarded by the Nobles.
And many were well aware that this place was owned by a Nobel family but which one?..only some had any idea.
When Alice entered the place , there were a few gasps from corners and some pale faces looking at her.
She didn't care about such reactions and strided towards the third floor where only few people were allowed entry.
" Why she's here back again? Didn't she leave yesterday!?.." a man in his late twenties looking a little fair asked around in an irritated voice.
" I-I don't know " his friend cum servant replied meekly.
_ _
The currency of this world was simple and revolved around Essence stones.
These were extracted from deep mines and were rich with mana.
Mana was one of the primordial mysteries of this Universe which was like an adhesive.
It helped adhere and provide substance to a mage's phenomenon to the metaphysical plane and much more which was still a mystery.
Even though one can passively absorb mana from atmosphere , it was very thin.
A Rank-1 mage might need a few days to recover his lost mana given his poor efficiency in magic and the scarcity.
A Rank-3 Mage can easily recover himself if given a few hours despite the size of his mana core being several times bigger than of a Rank-1 Mage.
The impurities inside an essence stone determined the colour of the stone due to light being scattered at different wavelengths.
_ _
The third floor had less than ten private rooms which were reserved by few people because they was too luxurious and expensive.
Only the "slaves" traded using Silver coins and Gold coins. A gold coin equalling 100 silver coins and one silver coin being 100 copper coins.
An average middle class family's net annual income might not be more than 10 Gold coins and " Nightfall Lily " was priced at 100 Gold coins or a single Red Essence stone.
That just showed the difference between the "slaves" and the " commoners " or in essence those of "orthodoxies".
Mages and swordsmen ruled the world, even if they aren't not nobles and only "commoners".
The rooms in the third floor charged 10 Red stones for a single night. A deluxe for most but just mediocre for those who actually booked these.
Alice didn't enter any room but went upstairs straight to the terrace. The view from up above was calm and peaceful.
There were a few buildings nearby because it was a "high-class" area.
The tables were arranged in such a manner that everyone could enjoy the view of "The Lake of Lost Souls", with an intriguing story.
She spotted her table in the corner easily under this weak moonlight. Many eyes turned towards her but soon corrected themselves when they recognised the well-known face, except one pair of eyes.
Those twin whirlpools of night black eyes with hundreds of violet stars pulsating inside attracted anyone's soul.
An angular face and perfect nose just did justice to the eyes. He had a lean body giving him a scholarly appearance.
Even though his black hair were not unkempt but it didn't give any impression of "Noble".
He gestured towards the empty chair opposite to him towards Alice and she didn't miss the chance to make herself comfortable.
Alice was a tall woman with a top-notch figure refined by herself to give mixed vibes of sensuality and dominance.
Everyone knew that the body of a Sword Master was better than anyone because they had to refine their bodies at each Rank. But it didn't make all women Fairies and all men Immortals.
Only the true geniuses of Sword path could maintain a balance between strength and improve their divine visage.
It needed sophisticated control of your body with rigorous training and near-death battles.
Her full-length black dress wrapped tight round her body. Her silver hair made waves in this mild breeze.
She took her seat and noticed the table was empty except a glass of water making her feel a little guilty but unknowingly happy.
" Thanks for waiting " regardless of her personality, she was raised in a Duchy and was mindful of her etiquettes. She conveyed what needed to be.
" You're welcome " his voice was a lot softer than manly but not femine.
_ _